Semiconductor device packaging is commonly provided for integrated circuits, such as semiconductor chips. A semiconductor device package electrically insulates the semiconductor chip and protects the semiconductor chip from environmental conditions, such as moisture, particles, etc. Additionally, a semiconductor device package is configured to allow the semiconductor chip to be easily electrically connected to external circuitry, such as a printed circuit board. Semiconductor packages are configured in a variety of different ways that are tailored to different applications and different semiconductor chips.
One important design consideration associated with semiconductor device packaging is heat dissipation. In many technology areas, the power consumption per unit area of integrated circuits continues to increase. Heat dissipation may be particularly important in high power applications utilizing power devices, such as power transistors, power integrated circuits, IGBTs and diodes, for example. The high voltages and/or high frequencies that power devices commonly operate at cause the power transistor to generate a substantial amount of heat. The heat generated by semiconductor chips may cause device failure, or may result in degraded electrical connections, which consequently reduces performance.
Heat sinks are included in semiconductor device packages to dissipate heat away from the integrated circuit in a manner that avoids failure or degraded performance. However, known heat sink designs typically require substantial additional area and/or add substantial additional expense to the design of the semiconductor device package.